Ripon boys, girls teams eliminated in first round

COLFAX – After giving Sac-Joaquin Division IV top seed Colfax an early 11 point lead in the first quarter, the visiting Ripon Indians simply couldn't overcome the margin in their first-round playoff appearance.

Knights take command early before coasting

RIPON – After sprinting out of the gate to an early 10-point lead, the Ripon Christian Knights started putting all of the pieces together in their Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoff opener Wednesday against visiting Stone Ridge Christian (12-10) of Merced.

Manteca falters in second half of season opener

Manteca High's girls soccer team opened the season in impressive fashion but could not hold on in a 3-1 home loss to Lodi Wednesday.

Del Oro thumps ice-cold T’Wolves

LOOMIS - Leading scorer Aaron Hendricks was out for Wednesday's Sac-Joaquin Section Division III postseason opener against No. 14 Sierra, but No. 3 Del Oro still had little trouble in advancing with a 69-39 victory.

YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

Clipping a double-digit deficit to five points to close out the third period seemingly put the Rio Americano girls basketball team in position to continue its season. Yet a perfectly executed defensive shutout in the fourth quarter proved to be the end of the Raider's year in their 54-43 Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Tournament loss to East Union Tuesday at the Dalben Center.

Manteca succumbs to Vikings’ pressing ‘D’

FAIRFIELD - With head coaching duties split between assistant coach Garrett Tolman, boys head coach Dave Asuncion and athletic director Ron Inderbitzin, Manteca High's girls basketball team struggled to keep up with highly-favored Vanden in a 71-25 loss in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs Tuesday.

PLAYOFFS TIP OFF FOR GIRLS TEAMS

The good news for East Union High's girls basketball team is that its loss to rival Manteca in the regular-season finale last Thursday didn't bump it low enough in the Division III seedings for a possible second-round matchup with the nation's top-ranked team in St. Mary's.

Buffs drop another spot despite winning out

A 13-game-winning streak to end the regular season wasn't good enough for Manteca High's boys basketball team to get a favorable seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

Sac-Joaquin Section First-round playoff games

• Division III boys: No. 16 Hogan at No. 1 Sacramento, No. 9 Foothill at No. 8 Lincoln, No. 12 Livingston at No. 5 Rio Americano, No. 13 El Dorado at No. 4 St. Mary's, No. 14 Sierra at No. 3 Del Oro, No. 11 Pioneer at No. 6 Center, No. 10 Placer at No. 7 Manteca, No. 15 Sonora at No. 2 Vista del Lago.

Lancers battle section finalist to draw

MODESTO - East Union High's girls soccer team had a strong showing its first non-league match of the season Monday, battling Central Catholic to a 0-0 tie.

DIVISION WRESTLING

THE NEXT STEP

Four area wrestlers closed out the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Wrestling Championships with an opportunity to win titles, but all came up short yet will continue their season by advancing to the Masters Wrestling Tournament next weekend in Stockton.

Ripon pair continue season

HILMAR – A perfect scenario would have had a handful of Ripon High wrestlers advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Tournament, but it was only meant to be for a pair of Indians after top-5 finishes during the section's Division V tournament Saturday.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

The opening day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Tournament at East Union High was all about survival for Lancer senior Stevyn Teeple.

Ripon trio reaches D-V semifinals

HILMAR - The fun is just beginning for Ripon High's semifinalists in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Tournament.

CHECKMATE

Chris Teevan turned the game into a chess match, just as he had promised, sending five fast-action guards at the reigning Valley Oak League champions.

Beating Buffs tall order for East Union

Early on, East Union High kept pace with crosstown rival Buffaloes before a jam-packed crowd at Winter Gymnasium on Friday.

Sierra wrestling makes history

In his fifth season, coach Alex Nuanez has the Sierra High wrestling program trending in the right direction.

Paschini leads way for Ripon

ESCALON – Aaron Paschini scored 10 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, fueling Ripon's late surge in a 53-49 victory on Friday night.

BOXED IN

RIPON – The Ripon Christian Knights may not have been at their best in Thursday's Trans-Valley League clash against visiting Hughson, but they did battle back after surviving an early cold spell.

Shots eventually drop for Cougars

STOCKTON – Weston Ranch and Lathrop could only combine for eight first-quarter points Thursday but the Cougars went on a roll the rest of the way and defeated the visiting Spartans 55-26 in Valley Oak League girls basketball action.

EU heating up

OAKDALE – It was about this time last year that Olivia Vezaldenos and the East Union girls basketball team began their playoff push.

RC loses T. Vander Molen in win

HUGHSON – Ripon Christian kept its perfect Trans-Valley League record intact but may have lost a key player in the process.

TESTED ON ROAD

LATHROP – Jaelen Ragsdale had his best performance in weeks on a night when Lathrop star Isaiah Ellis struggled just to stay on the court.

Spartans pin down victories

The Lathrop wrestling team swept its Valley Oak League double-dual meet with Weston Ranch and Kimball on Wednesday.

OUR KNIGHT

RIPON – Sean Broker burrowed down in the post, a tree standing tall above the Tribe. Austin Alger danced around the perimeter.

Defend The Den: T’wolves snap skid

The Sierra High girls basketball team turned to its defense to snap a five-game losing streak.

Blankers’ defense the difference

RIPON – Physically, Ed Mulder knew Ellen Blankers would be fine following knee surgery in the spring.

RC looks to reverse trend in rivalry

RIPON – The Ripon Christian girls basketball team hasn't had much success this decade against its across-the-street neighbor.

BEST IN TOWN

RIPON – Rod Wright and his staff are in charge of the official book, access to the locker rooms and providing a game ball.